Cosmetic Dermatologist Tells Us How Matt Gaetz Likely Achieved Spock-Inspired 2024 RNC Look

Congressman Matt Gaetz was an unexpected star of this year's Republican National Convention. Yet, when he stole the show, it was for all the wrong reasons. Gaetz's face looked nearly unrecognizable. So, what happened to make him look so different? We talked to an expert about Gaetz's unsettling new look, and he has some suspicions about what non-invasive cosmetic procedures may have caused the big change.

Anyone who's seen Matt Gaetz before — and likely most who haven't — can tell that he seems to have had some work done on his face. Yet, it's hard to believe that this Spock-like look was really what the congressman was hoping for when seeking out cosmetic procedures. In an exclusive interview with The List, Dr. Mariano Busso, a Board Certified Cosmetic Dermatologist based out of Beverly Hills and Miami, gave us his best assessment. Of course, Dr. Busso isn't Gaetz's doctor, so it's impossible to have 100% certainty about his exact procedures. Still, as a Board Certified Dermatologist, Dr. Busso knows a thing or two about what can go wrong with cosmetic procedures. As far as Dr. Busso is concerned, "there are two main facial changes between Mr. Gaetz's appearance at the RNC in 2020 and 2024: very heavy Botox and cheek fillers." So, while Gaetz may have been attempting to look like he hadn't aged in the four years since his last RNC appearance, the work he had done, instead, made him look like a totally different person.

Both Botox and injectable fillers are incredibly popular cosmetic procedures. In the United States, nearly 4.4 million Botox injections were given in 2020, according to a World Metrics report. In the U.S., fillers are the second most frequently performed minimally invasive cosmetic procedure, with almost 2.6 million people getting fillers annually. So, what is it that makes such popular procedures go so wrong? In Gaetz's case, "Botox was performed very heavily on the center of the forehead, resulting in a drop of his central eyebrows," Dr. Mariano Busso explained. He added, "The lateral aspect of the eyebrows was left with movement, giving that Mr. Spock' look with pointy lateral eyebrows."

Evidently, how and where your Botox and fillers are applied is of the utmost importance. Luckily, Botox isn't permanent, and you need to keep up with regular injections to maintain the appearance. So, if Gaetz looks back at photos from this year's RNC and wonders why it looked like a "Star Trek" character was making his speech, maybe he will lay off the procedures in the future and allow some of his natural skin texture to come back. We'll be on the lookout at the 2028 RNC.